''Ceanothus impressus'' is a species of
shrub
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
in the family
Rhamnaceae
The Rhamnaceae are a large family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs, and some vines, commonly called the buckthorn family. Rhamnaceae is included in the order Rosales.
The family contains about 55 genera and 950 species. The Rhamnaceae h ...
known by the common name Santa Barbara ceanothus.
[''Ceanothus impressus''.]
CalFlora.[''Ceanothus impressus''.]
USDA PLANTS. It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to the
Central Coast of California
The Central Coast is an area of California, roughly spanning the coastal region between Point Mugu and Monterey Bay. It lies northwest of Los Angeles County and south of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, and includes the rugged, undeveloped ...
, where it is known from
San Luis Obispo and
Santa Barbara Counties.
[''Ceanothus impressus''.]
Flora of North America. It occurs in chaparral habitat.
[
This is an upright shrub with a dense or open form, reaching up to 3 meters in height. The evergreen leaves are about 2 centimeters long and oval shaped, highly ridged and wrinkled and curling under along the edges. They may be gland-dotted and have grayish hairy undersides. The shrub flowers abundantly in ]inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...
s of small blue flowers. The fruit is a crested spherical capsule about 4 millimeters wide.[''Ceanothus impressus''.]
Jepson eFlora. Jepson Herbarium, University of California.
There are two varieties:[
*''C. impressus'' var. ''impressus'' – generally more compact with intricate branching and cupped leaves
*''C. impressus'' var. ''nipomensis'' (Nipomo ceanothus) – a rare variety, more open in shape, known only from a region of San Luis Obispo County
]
Gallery
Image:Ceanothus impressus 3.jpg, ''Ceanothus impressus''
Image:Ceanothus impressus var nipomensis 2.jpg, var. ''nipomensis''
References
External links
''Ceanothus impressus''.
CalPhotos.
impressus
Endemic flora of California
{{Rhamnaceae-stub